Skip to main content

‘Metal Gear Survive’ is now available, and early impressions are mixed

METAL GEAR SURVIVE Launch Trailer | Konami (ESRB)

Series creator Hideo Kojima is gone, but Metal Gear does indeed survive — sort of. Metal Gear Survive is available now, and early impressions from fans and critics are decidedly mixed.

Recommended Videos

The game moves away from the stealth focus of previous Metal Gear titles in favor of a mix of survival and action. With a story that takes place in an alternate dimension populated by zombies, it bears little resemblance to Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, though it does make use of its engine and some of its gameplay systems.

Writing for IGN, Chloi Rad called the world “bland,” and a “mediocre base-building action-survival game” even when ignoring Survive‘s gaping plot holes. She also criticized the game’s uninteresting side activities, as well as its tedious first few hours.

Other issues related to the game’s online connectivity have also arisen. Giant Bomb’s Jeff Gerstmann was disconnected from the game as it was saving, only to find that his progress was lost. He was also unable to resume playing without completely relaunching the game from his console’s home menu.

Though Survive is certainly a departure from the other games in the series, it does still have some focus on stealth, and players can even send zombies up to their base as they did with soldiers in The Phantom Pain. Combat is a mix of third-person shooting like we’ve seen from the series before, as well as melee attacks. Fences and other obstacles can also be created to defend against zombies on the fly, but you must monitor your hunger and thirst levels in order to make it through missions in one piece.

When Metal Gear Survive was announced in 2016, series creator Hideo Kojima expressed his confusion, questioning why Konami would insert zombies into a series known for espionage. Though there haven’t been literal zombies in a Metal Gear game before, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots did feature a boss who was essentially a vampire. Perhaps blood-sucking monsters have a place.

Metal Gear Survive is available now in the United States for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. The game will release in Europe on February 22.

Gabe Gurwin
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
We played 4 upcoming Konami games, including Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection
Solid Snake and Raiden hold weapons in Metal Gear Solid 2.

Once upon a time, Konami was one of the most dominant third-party video game publishers out there. The company had a long era of dominance, with franchises like Castlevania and Metal Gear Solid making it a household name. That would change a bit in the mid-2010s, as the publisher went through a major restructure that saw the company parting ways with one of its highest-profile studios, Kojima Productions. Despite that, Konami has remained plenty busy -- especially as of late.

Last week, Digital Trends got to see that first-hand when we attended a Konami press event highlighting four of its upcoming games. That list included high-profile games like Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 and Super Bomberman R 2, as well as smaller publishing projects like Super Crazy Rhythm Castle and CYGNI: All Guns Blazing. We went hands-on with each game in the varied line-up, giving us a better sense of how Konami's video game efforts are evolving.
Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1

Read more
Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection contains first 2 Metal Gear games, Konami confirms
metal gear solid master collection extra games

Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 will contain two more games than expected, according to its PlayStation Store listing and a statement that the game's publisher, Konami, provided to Digital Trends. Those titles are the original Metal Gear and its follow-up, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake.

You might have missed the announcement of Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 during the PlayStation Showcase. An image that appeared briefly following the Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater's announcement confirmed the collection and revealed it would feature Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.
The PlayStation Store listing goes into a lot more detail about what versions of what games are actually included in this collection. It confirms that Master Collection Vol. 1 will include the HD Collection versions of Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3, in addition to a version of Metal Gear Solid that also features the VR and Special Missions, but it also states that the package includes the first two games in the Metal Gear series.
Digital Trends contacted Konami to affirm that this PlayStation Store listing was accurate, and a PR representative confirmed that "for the Collection, the PS Store listing is correct."
While Metal Gear Solid is when Hideo Kojima's stealth espionage series went mainstream, it actually began when Konami released Metal Gear on the MSX2 in Japan and Europe in 1987. This game, along with its 1990 Japan-only follow-up, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, are top-down stealth games where players infiltrate enemy bases as Solid Snake. These games laid the groundwork for the Metal Gear Solid series' lore, and they are still canon within the wider series. As such, it's great to see these games present in the collection, as they've only really ever been available as bonuses in rereleases of Metal Gear Solid 3.
Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 launches this autumn. 

Read more
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is getting a full remake on PS5, Xbox, and PC
A promo image for Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is getting a modern remake. Revealed at today's PlayStation Showcase, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is a new remake from Konami. It doesn't have a release date yet, but a Metal Gear Solid remaster collection is coming this fall.

Rumors of a Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater began to pop up earlier this year, with some teasing that the game would be present at the PlayStation Showcase. Those rumors proved true as the project got a trailer during Sony's big show. The game is also coming to Xbox and PC.

Read more